Information about large IT suppliers

Tag Archives: United Health

Aetna Inc. and Jefferson Hospital stated Wednesday they signed a two-year contract renewal, ending a dispute that threatened to block in-network access to the hospital for thousands of individuals in the South Hills region of Pittsburgh.

When Aetna Inc. (NYSE: AET) and John C. Lincoln Health Network ended contract negotiations about a year ago, there were rumors that Scottsdale Healthcare’s contract renewal would fall through this year.

In 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court remanded the case, Amara v. Cigna Corp., to U.S. District Court in Connecticut, finding that the lower court had erred in granting relief to the plaintiffs under Chapter 502(a)(1)(B) of the Employment Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, which enforces the terms of a pension plan.

“Cigna has an interest in Korea’s travel insurance business, although I’m not sure when it will move,” said a source familiar with the matter, asking not to be named. The Korea Times sent an e-mail to Cigna’s media office to confirm the comment, but the office has not responded yet.

Who would have guessed when the Affordable Care Act was first introduced that UnitedHealth and the top insurers in the country would rise to all-time highs. Hint: insurance executives and insiders were scared to the point that they decided the best way to survive was to broaden out their reach by consolidating the health insurance industry via mergers. This stock has also risen about 400% since the panic selling lows of March 2009.

One of the many controversial riders put in the massive bill would erode a safeguard in the Affordable Care Act that involves risk “corridors,” which are designed to stabilize insurance premiums in the first few years of the law’s implementation.

Compared to its peers, is expected to face the least headwinds and is in a good position to grow, according to Merrill Lynch. The firm rated the company as its top pick for 2015, as it is trading at a 2.6-times discount to its peers. Although the company has underperformed the group year-to-date from poor Health Segment results, Merrill Lynch believes the company is positioned to outperform going forward. Shares of Cigna were up less than 1% at $104.90. The stock has a consensus analyst price target of $109.18 and a 52-week trading range of $73.47 to $105.60.

For months it has run TV commercials and newspaper ads warning that Highmark insurance customers could lose access to in-network treatment at UPMC on Jan. 1 if they don’t switch insurance plans. Now the company, according to an email Friday from its chief medical officer to its physicians, will launch an outreach campaign this week to tell the Highmark customers who stayed put that they — and their insurance dollars — are welcome at UPMC, so long as those customers are currently under UPMC care.

The annual initiative recognizes companies that improve the quality of life in the communities where they do business. The Minnetonka, Minn.-based company ranked first in the health care industry for the second year in a row, and has been recognized every year since Points of Light began the initiative in 2012.

Below are the three companies in the Managed Health Care industry with the lowest current ratios. Current ratio is useful to get an idea of how quickly a company can repay its short-term liabilities with its short-term assets. The higher the current ratio, the more capable the company is of paying its obligations. CIGNA ranks lowest with a a current ratio of 0.2. Following is UnitedHealth with a a current ratio of 0.7. Aetna ranks third lowest with a a current ratio of 0.8.

Humana offers Medicare Advantage plans to seniors in a number of regions across the United States, and it is a core business line for the company. Medicare accounts for about 76 percent of Humana’s total insurance premium revenue, according to the company.

Samsung announces partnership with several health companies including Aetna and Cigna

What’s not clear here is how well these platforms will be able to integrate data into EMRs. With Epic Systems being the only EMR vendor working with any of these players to date, linking up any of these platforms smoothly with other EMRs is still in question. Still, it seems likely the IT powerhouses like Apple, Samsung and Microsoft will soon find robust EMR partners that can link up with their platforms. It’s not a question of if, but when.

In its most recent report from 2013, the association found Medicare most frequently denied claims, at 4.92 percent of the time; followed by Aetna, with a denial rate of 1.5 percent; United Healthcare, 1.18 percent; and Cigna, 0.54 percent. But the report also shows significant year-to-year variability. In 2008, Aetna denied claims 6.8 percent of the time; Cigna, 3.44 percent; and United, 2.68 percent of the time.

The calculator includes prices for more than 1,600 medical services, a fourfold increase in the number of estimates that were previously available. The care cost estimator is available to all Highmark PPO and EPO plan members under age 65 and will soon expand to include Highmark’s Medicare Advantage plan members.